Ranger Effect
by SotF
Summary: With the dawn of a new era, the decision to form a new Ranger team has been made with powers recovered from those of legends
1. Return of the Power

**Note:** Blame Linkara's history of the Power Rangers for this...the basic ideas just wouldn't stop coming and I do have some plans to make this a wild ride.

* * *

><p>Earth had changed a lot over the past century, something not unexpected after the events that forged the Systems Alliance. War of a type never imagined, spreading out across the stars, new world, unimagined powers, and battling giant monsters with combining robots.<p>

John Shepard hadn't been accepted by SPD, but the military had taken him in and given him the same chance as those long ago legends had.

And then Akuze had happened, leaving him the only member of his team alive.  
>He hadn't used his morpher since, but had continued to do the jobs needed to keep it from happening again.<p>

"Commander," the voice startled him slightly and he stiffened.

"Sir," he answered, starting to come to attention as if by reflex.

"Don't bother Shepard," Anderson's tone was more somber than normal, something he took as another side effect of the vista from the ships observation port.

Sure, it was a holographic projection, but it still carried the same weight as looking through a window.

"The alliance has a job for you," his mentor stated calmly.

"What's the mission?"

"That's the hard part," came the answer, "Command has started talking about making ties with the Citadel, opening a few doors to prevent a repeat of the war."

John swallowed hard, he remembered the stories of that, both sides suffering catastrophic losses while Ranger Ops had their own problems with a UAE resurgence.

"What do I need to do?"

"We need someone to build a team," the Captain stated, "But first, I need your morpher."

Slowly, John undid the strap on his wrist, glancing down for a moment.

"Are you sure about this," he asked, "Sir?"

"Necessary evil," the other answered, a touch of sorrow as the older man took the device and sat it on the table while bringing out a sealed case and motioning his protégé over, "But it is necessary concerning what we are doing."

He flipped up a cover from the side and placed his thumb on the sensor

The metallic container released a hiss of escaped gas as it opened to reveal something that John Shepard recognized.

"How did you get them?"

"We tracked down the maker of them a decade ago, a week ago he finished fixing them up," a pause as the man grinned at him, "All seven original power coins are in working condition."

John was torn, on the one hand this was like being told that he had just pulled Excalibur out of the stone, but yet he wondered why him. His last team hadn't survived the duty, and he'd only lived by lending up in a niche of rock unconscious.

"Why me?"

"You've proven you can do what's needed," was the only answer that Anderson gave, "And survived where all others died."

He was about to refute it, but the look on the other man's face changed his mind as the device was held before him.

"And I believe that you'd look good in white…"

"Who else is on the team?"

"Well, there's two current candidates, the first is a native of KO-35," came the grin, "You thought we'd stick you into this alone, you've been working with Alenko for a while and we'll keep what works."

"And the other?"

"A little gift from Eltar," came the answer as the door hissed open, "I present Alpha 5."

* * *

><p>Kaiden Alenko stood at the overlook of the lunar colony, watching as the newly completed Normandy rested with its cavernous hanger open wide as the forms of Zords were ushered into the craft.<p>

These were legends, machines that had fought the worst the galaxy had to offer, and even forces from beyond. Only a handful of them were actively ready, but the others were still being repaired.

The red and silver form far below held his attention most of all, a reminder of his new responsibilities, and yet not the ones most associate with the color he'd been chosen to wield. While the red ranger was normally the leader, he never wanted to end up in charge. Something confirmed by the situation, as with the later times of these inherited powers first owners, White was the leader.

Earths transcendence started here, on the moon thanks to the failed containment of Rita Repulsa so long ago and the wormhole that linked Luna and Mirinoi.

"Impressive ain't she," he had to grin at Joker's comment.

"You mean the Zords or the ship?" he asked, a fragment of a smirk on his lips.

"It's not like we'll get to see how I can handle those things they're loading onto her," came the answer from the pilot.

"She's no megaship either," he shot back at the other man.

"Well," came another familiar voice, "Enough arguing, we've got another candidate to pick up near the Relay."

Kaidan jerked to attention at the commanders voice and spun, "Sir?"

He should have expected the new wardrobe, but at least Shepard managed to find something that worked rather than going for the half-expected stormtrooper motif.

"Surprised you're not in armor," he managed to add a moment later.

"Well, figured the morph would be all the armor needed this time, you're wearing more red than usual anyway."

"Figured I'd get a head start on the wardrobe, seems we both had the same idea."

"Anyway, Anderson and Alpha are already onboard; we have a candidate the Citadel sent heading towards a rendezvous point near the refueling station."

"Oh?" Joker managed to add his thoughts with a look of annoyance.

"Seems that the deal is to send a spectre and give the team equivalent status," John commented, "Figures they'd send one of their best and the Alliance thinks we can keep up."

"We always do," came the retort and a shrug.

* * *

><p>Ashley Williams ran through the narrow passages of the dig site as the enemy swarmed in.<p>

Her team was down to two, herself and one other, with the rest falling to the surprise attack, not even a chance to morph.

"Send the distress call," Bhatia ordered as they both had a moment of calm, "I'll try to hold them off."

"You can't stop them all," she shot back, wondering if they could even survive.

"We have to try," came Nirali's response, "We have to do this."

"Right," Williams responded with a nod as she held up the badge, "Let's."

"SPD Emergency!"

* * *

><p>Arcturus was a marvel to behold, massive domes full of vegetation and life that floated in the void so unlike the various races he was more familiar with had chosen.<p>

Nihlus Kryik stood there looking out of the central spire, waiting for the Alliance Ship to pass through on its way out of the system. He'd been briefed on only a few things concerning the project, something both the Alliance and the Council had kept hidden.

The soft hiss of the door brought his attention from the stars and to the present.

"Ambassador," he stated calmly.

"Nihlus," Udina's comment wasn't impolite, but it was tense, "I must apologize, but there has been a slight change of plan."

"Oh?"

"SPD is relaying a distress call, Eden Prime is under attack."

The turian breathed deeply, and motioned to the human to continue.

"The Normandy isn't going to dock, and we're taking this as an opportunity to show you something we've relegated to emergency and ranger duty," Udina continued as he held out a small case, "But there is something else first."

Opening the case revealed a wrist watch shaped device and something that looked almost like a belt buckle with a golden coin mounted in it, one with the shape of a three toed footprint.

"We believed that with your training and the fact you're used to independent operations, that this was the one most suited to you."

This was the secret that both governments were springing on them, mixing rangers and specters.

"May I congratulate you on being the first turian to be accepted into the Ranger forces," he added with a grin as the Spectre took the offered items, "Green ranger."

"What's next?"

The man grinned, "You'll like this next part."

Udina opened the comms signal out of the room, "Send him on his way."

And the turian vanished from Arturus in a flash of emerald light.

* * *

><p>"Nihlus?" the question was asked of him as he blinked and reached around him.<p>

He wasn't on the station anymore.

It hadn't quite sunk in though, the Alliance had managed to keep the fact they had managed to make teleportation work…

May their gods help them whenever the Salarians discovered that fact, because he'd lay even money on the horde of inquisitive scientists, some of which were armed, attempting to get answers about just how they'd managed that feat.

He took the offered hand from the human, "Yeah, that's me."

"Welcome to the Normandy," the man continued with an almost cocky grin, "I'm Richard Jenkins, Black Ranger."

* * *

><p>"All rangers," Joker stated from his position at the helm, "We're about to hit the relay, aiming for rapid deployment."<p>

He paused as the flash of energy cascaded over the ship and the momentary vertigo of the relay transit.

"Rangers," Alpha added a moment later, "prepare at launch bay one, I've included a surprise for you there."

"Alpha?" Joker managed to get in a second later.

"Shark Cycles ready for deployment, four ready and waiting."  
>"Looks like more introductions can wait," Jenkins stated as he stepped into the bay with Nihlus watching Shepard and Alenko exit the other lift, "I guess we're starting with four."<p>

* * *

><p>Johns grin was noticeable as he pulled the morpher from his belt, "Ready?"<p>

"Yep," Kaidan responded as he pulled his out as well.

"Born ready," Jenkins added alongside the Spectre's nod.

"It's Morphin Time!"

* * *

><p><strong>Codex: Relay Wars<strong>

When a Turian patrol encountered the research team investigating a Relay, the brief war became an anvil trapping the Systems Alliance between it and a brief resurgence of the United Alliance of Evil.

The lack of Ranger support on the Turian front led to heavy casualties before teams could reach the new war front.

**Codex: Akuze Thresher Incident**  
>The first encounter with Thresher Maws was exacerbated by the creatures consumption of a small research outpost studying artifacts recovered from various villains.<p>

Three Ranger Teams are lost and presumed dead before the larger than usual monster was put down by orbital bombardment.

**Codex: Lunar Base**  
>Following the discovery of the wormhole between the moon and Mirinoi, a permanent station was positioned around the stabilized passage for normalized traffic shortly after the incident with the reactivation and subsequent destruction of Serpentera .<p>

**Codex: Space Patrol Delta (SPD)**  
>While not quite as heavily armed as the various military ranger teams deployed, SPD does have the largest force of Rangers available at any time using technology developed more for peacekeeping than for outright warfare. As such, SPD has a presence on the more heavily populated worlds in the Alliance as well as teams on several with lesser population.<p>

**Codex: Arcturus Station**  
>Originally developed as an offshoot of the Venture Project, the design borrows much from the Terra Venture colonization missions in the early years. it's expansion over the years has maintained the original design esthetics.<p>

It was first positioned as a transit hub and customs facility just outside of the Sol System, but with the discovery of the Relays, it was towed to service visitors from the Citadel systems as the entry to Alliance Space.


	2. Eden Prime Part 1

Ashley moved as the machines attacked again.

She knew it was a losing battle, there were just far too many Geth attacking to have a chance, especially with the elimination of all but one other member of her team.

An explosion drew her attention as Nirali took another blast and crashed backwards with a scream and a flash of red light as she lost her morph.

She couldn't help but try to scream as another wave of these monsters swarmed their position, blasts converging on the only other survivor of Eden Prime's SPD team, and the momentary stillness that followed left her the only one.

Grabbing the sidearm her superior had been using in her free hand, she braced herself, a plan to go out fighting if nothing else as she caught her breath behind the slight cover they'd managed to hold for the past hour.

And then the site exploded around her, mixing with the roar of bikes and a silence that drew her attention over the pile of ruined equipment.

The first thing that caught her eye was the now unmoving hordes of robotic troopers standing.

It was only then that what should have been the first sight captured her sole attention.

Not just a man on a motorcycle, but one that gave her the notion that she was either dead or dying with hallucinations.

One of the figures that every child knew, the same ages that learned the names of the major dinosaurs could identify that particular uniform. But at the same time, that outfit was one every member of the Alliance knew could never be used again.

The original rangers outfits were all but sacred, no team would even allow those uniforms to be reproduced, much less used. They were the heroes and legends that started everything that made the alliance.

And yet, the figure before her stood there clad in white, black, and gold was right out of those histories amidst an area devoid of any Geth save for a handful of pieces and atop one of the vehicles that held almost the same status.

"Alright then," she heard the white ranger state from atop the shark cycle as he revved the engine, "Let's go!"

The wheeled vehicle roared with the same ferocity of the primeval beast who's genetic structure was supposed to have empowered it as bike and rider simply moved, tearing through the enemy almost as if they weren't even there, saber flashing between strokes that rent metal and showered the area in flashes of light.

"The hell…" she managed to stammer as an explosion felt a little closer than what she was watching, one of the enemy had circled and closed, and it was falling, the dead machine falling inches from her to the mud around her.

Her eyes first observed the gaping tear in the head of it and then turned her gaze upwards, spotting the axe still in position from ripping through armor and servomotors.

A black ranger stood there, body language giving her the impression of a grin made all the more confusing from the expressionless metal sculpts of a lower face of the black mask of the Mastodon.

"Down," the second ranger yelled as he moved, pulling her behind him as the weapon shifted in his hands, blade moving down the barrel, "Power Axe, Cannon Mode!"

The energy blasts added to the carnage that rocked the battlefield, ripping through those foes that had managed to take a holding position on the ridges around them.

Clanking footsteps left her wondering if her reprieve was but momentary as one of their tank analogues moved into the clear and then another. Weapons turned on their position, perhaps believing they had a decent chance at taking two rangers down with a single shot.

Her eyes widened behind the pink mask, this was it as they fired and her eyes snapped tightly closed.

Nothing seemed to change, and she heard music.

Eerily familiar, but she just couldn't place it, echoing eerily in the confines of the canyon that had been SPD's last stand.

"Go Nihlus!" she heard the black ranger, the voice making her open her eyes again to another sight.

Clad in green and gold, she could see the ranger playing the flute through a dagger while the golden shield glowed brighter than the flashes of mass accelerator shots that disintegrated against it. The almost mythic power of the dragon dagger sang for the first time since those original rangers, shielding them from the weapons.

And then a fourth myth came into play as a red blur dropped atop the first colossus, using his weight and momentum to add to the sword he wielded, the Red Tyrannosaurus Ranger drove the weapon into the Geth machine from above. The nightmare staggered as its weight forced legs wider to slide apart in the muck, holding for only an instant and then the machine fell to crash to the ground with a roar of collapsing metal.

But the ranger didn't stop there, continuing the initial attack into almost a rebound leap that ripped the blade free of the destroyed head as he passed the other colossus and struck, slicing cleanly through first one leg and then a second in a single pass before rolling away.

The Red Ranger turned as the machine fought against gravity before the rangers free hand moved into a shoving motion, and metal crumpled even before the telekinetic strike blew the geth from its feet.

It was too much as her mind seemed to shut down at what she saw as The Rangers seemed to materialize around her almost too late to do anything, but they were something else.

The only thing that had come close was when the prince of triforia tested the entire academy and took on every ranger team they had available at once, nothing could stop the gold ranger, and this was an entire team at least as powerful.

It was as if they simply told these monsters to die and they did, a perfect display of what every ranger team since wanted to be.

And then it was over as she fought to regain her senses, the Geth were gone, at least from the area, and four legends had hammered them with a force unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

* * *

><p>"Alpha," Joker asked as he turned in his chair, "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"<p>

The robot paused to glance at the various screens in the ops center, "Ay yi yi…"

"So, that's a yes then?"

"You need to warn the Rangers, that looks like it could be serious trouble."

"It gets worse," the pilot added, "I'm picking up some odd demolitions charges near the starport."

Shifting through the various holographic displays around him, Joker took a deep breath.

"Shepard," he stated into the comms, "You've got problems groundside, that mothership of theirs launched a trio of larger craft your way, guessing they're planning to just burn you out."

"Understood," came the response, "How long do we have down here?"

"Well, that's not all of the problem, what ever is leading this attack is planning on blowing up the starport, and that brings it to the most probably location for something important," he continued, "Not sure how much time you have until the area goes up around you…"

* * *

><p>"You heard Joker," Ashley heard the white ranger state, "Two problems, we'll need to split up."<p>

"You alright?" she heard the red one add, finally seeming to take more notice of her after the insanity.

"I think so," she managed to get out, relieved that there seemed to be time to catch her breath, "Any other survivors?"

"Hey boss," Black added, "Seems that we've got another here."

The SPD ranger almost laughed as the relief hit her, her Red ranger hadn't ended up joining the casualty lists, though nothing was said about the others.

"You have a clue as to what they're after here?" White asked as he turned towards her.

She could only answer with what she knew.

They'd found something Prothean...

Kaiden had wondered what the hell could be worth a full on invasion of Eden Prime, but then again that might make a lot of sense. The Cranston Institute on Aquitar was still trying to figure out some of their toys.

Hell, one of the major reasons for the lack of interaction was the side effect that element zero had on the usual sensor arrays when it was in an activated form. The radiation signature rather effectively masked the older sensor systems pretty much everyone used, limiting the knowledge on the true scope of the citadels reach.

It was something easily filterable in the end, but you had to know what it was actually doing to reach that point.

Or at least, that's what he'd learned back in school.

And the Protheans seemed up there in capability, close to Eltar level tech in several fields.

If the data could be a weapon, well, imagine some of the crazy nuts that popped up from time to time to cause problems with that tech...

Not being pretty was taking it lightly if one of them found a way to extend a field around an asteroid or the like.

Colony drops were not something anyone wanted to see added to standard tactics.

But then there was the other issues, the beacon and the bombs were one place, but then there was the airpower heading either towards them or in one of the more fortified locations nearby.

"Joker," he heard Shepard ask, "What assets do we have that can intercept them?"

"Commander, just one in service," came the response, "Alpha's tied the command circuits for the zords originally tied into the second coin set into the ones currently available thanks to the method used to repair them."

"What do we have?"

"Just one, boss, I'm having Alpha ready one of the ones for you to launch position."

"Team," came the order as the white ranger turned to the others, "Take SPD with you, handle the bombs and get the beacon."

"And you?" Jenkins asked, absently twirling his axe as he shifted it back to melee mode.

"You'll see," Shepard reversed his grip on Saba and held the weapon up, "Alright buddy, time to see how well we hold up."

"Right sir," came the response from the relic, "Three zords available, only one flight capable."

He sheathed the weapon for a moment, breathing deeply, Alenko could just see the grin spreading across his superior officers face behind the helmet.

"I need Falconzord power," John almost roared, taking a pose he knew was straight from the recordings of those who held their powers so long ago, "Now!"

For an instant, he wondered if the activation had failed, but then the sky seemed to respond with a birds cry and the wings of white sliced through the clouds to signal the arrival of one of the most fantastic machines he had ever seen as the White Ranger moved and went skywards with a speed that almost made him think Shepard had used the teleporter.

He paused, biting back both the urge to chuckle and the urge to salute, "Alright, he's doing his part, we've got ours."

* * *

><p>Richard Jenkins was getting nervous as the four rangers moved towards their target.<p>

The Geth had seemed to let up, and hadn't made an appearance since their rescue of the SPD ranger, Ashley Williams, who was riding double with Kaiden in the lead.

The shark cycles sensors were reading their proximity, but they were staying out of sight.

Waiting for something, and that he knew couldn't be something good.

Just how bad, Jenkins didn't know until the group pulled to a stop, and a flash of gold sent him tumbling a half-dozen yards through the grass in a spray of sparks.

"Jenkins," Alenko shouted, moving towards the black ranger to make sure his teammate was alright.

"What hit me?" he managed to stammer while fighting his way back to his feet.

"Oh?" came an oddly familiar voice echoing around them, "Can't the black ranger take a hit?"

"There!" Nihlus' hand pointed at a figure that shook the human rangers, recognition instantly apparent.

"You?" Kaiden's tone was more of a statement than a question and the confusion was audible.

"It's been a long time since I fought a Power Ranger, but it seems that while they pulled those morphers out of retirement, the skills didn't seem to come with them..."

"Scorpina..." Ashley was the first to put the name to the feminine figure standing upon the tramway they'd parked by.

* * *

><p>He clutched his rifle as he watched the gas bags float.<p>

The security was down, that had happened before he'd gotten there, but he knew that his target was already gone even before the two Senturians moved clear of the entrance.

Some of the footage of the Blue Senturian wasn't telling about how far it's successor units had come. What he had managed to find out about their origins was that they'd come from tech recovered from Frax it a timeline that shifted and no longer existed.

But whatever the rogue was doing on Eden Prime, much less involved in this madness was still something up in the air.

Garrus had left C-Sec five years ago, but his heritage had ended up leaving him as the choice for the assignment.

A Turian Spectre had gone rogue, and footage recovered from the research facilities on Eden Prime showed Saren there. What he was after was still unknown, but the attack on the planet that followed could not be a coincidence.

The visor's HUD flashed and he a warning passed about imminent aerial combat in the area was all he needed to decide on a course of action.

"This is Defender Bravo to inbound Ranger operations teams, there is a class two fugitive in the area, be warned he is armed and dangerous."

He didn't need more casualties on his conscience, not since Solaeon escaped.

That had been the final straw before leaving, and being a turian in Alliance space didn't always end up as the easiest option, but it was more rewarding and less confining than C-Sec had been. The Senturions were another reason to be thankful for the option, they were something the Council would have never approved.

* * *

><p>Kaiden moved, lunging into a roll just in time to avoid the blade the gold clad woman threw.<p>

He winced at the thought of it hitting him as he heard trees falling all around him from the same attack. His reaction cost him though as he took her second attack dead center. Pain roared through him as he lost his footing amidst the explosion of sparks even as Jenkins took cover and switched his axe back to cannon mode.

Ashley opened fire as best she could while staying out of Scorpina's line of fire behind the shark cycles.

"Sorry to say this," the former servant of Rita and Zedd mocked with a hint of annoyance, "But you don't seem to quite cut it against the last rangers with those powers."

"Perhaps," came the fourth rangers comment from a lot closer than she'd expected as Nihlus fired a blast into the supports Scorpina was standing on, "But you've never faced me before either."

The building collapsed seconds after she vacated the position, snatching her returning weapon from the air mid leap.

"Sorry, Nihlus," taunted another voice, prompting the Green Ranger to pause and turn, "Can't let you and your new friends eliminate her."

"Saren?"

* * *

><p><strong>Codex: Defenders<strong>  
>While conventional police forces with SPD backup are the primary law enforcement officers of the Alliance, there was often issues with the more interplanetary criminals that popped up.<p>

The solution proposed was an outgrowth of the Blue Senturions original missions before being sent to the Turbo Rangers.

By taking the best law enforcement officers, bounty hunters, and investigators they could get their hands on and training them to work with the more Senturions developed, they would have a mobile force capable of following those criminals and providing expertise to the planetary ranger forces that would eventually face off with them.

While the original members followed something akin to the marshals of Earth, within a year of their formation another name was suggestion in honor of one of those warriors who had fought alongside the Ranger team now based off of Mirinoi, the Magna Defender.

With the recent years of increased contact with the Citadel Council, the Defenders have gained the reputation of talent poachers from C-Sec with their fewer restrictions and more fluid regulations tending to be an attractive option for those the higher ups were attempting to forge into their next generation of officers.

On a more street level, the Defenders do tend to have a more friendly relationship with their rivals and far closer ties.

**Codex: The Blue Senturion**  
>After the Z-Wave incident and the battles with Frax, it was of interest that the technology of the Blue Senturion seemed based off of the human turned machine. Non-corrupted files from the Senturions memory banks revealed alterations in the timeline that not even that ranger teams support could identify.<p>

Current belief is that whatever caused the Blue Senturion to be sent back in time sent him earlier than he was supposed to go as evidenced by the discrepancies in current timeline and the one he originated in.

**Codex: The Senturions**  
>Due to the early difficulties producing morphers, the data and schematics of the Blue Senturion was analyzed for production as a stopgap measure until Ranger teams could be produced and prepared for their duties.<p>

As colonization projects grew, a similar effort in upgrading the Senturion series via recovered technology gained from a variety of sources, all colonies were assigned at least one Senturion to handle law enforcement operations.

The rapid expansion and trade across space thanks to the lack of outside threats thanks to the Z-Wave and Earth sponsored projects prompted a spike in crime that was more difficult to counteract with traditional forces prompting the use of the best in the Defenders.


End file.
